You Never Lose/Fail, Until You Give Up!

There are number of times you hear about somebody failing or losing and sometimes that somebody is YOU. But have you ever thought, whether you really really failed. Just mull over it for sometimes when you have that feeling next time. And when you do, just ask a simple question, why you gave up? 

You may have not heard about Derek Redmond before; I never did. But when I knew about him for the first time few years back, I could not forget him. He is a retired British athlete with numerous medals and records to his credit of which I know a little about. But his 1992 Olympic performance in Barcelona will be remembered by generations. He was the last to finish the race, but I guess hardly anyone remembers the athlete who actually won. Derek won the hearts of 65000 spectators. Click to watch what happened.

For sure, somebody who doesn’t give up, can never fail and it’s hard to beat the one who is not willing to give up. 

8 Rupees: A Food For Thought! - Guest Blog by Palwasha Sherin Khan, PK

Palwasha is currently working as a Corporate Responsibility Specialist at Telenor Pakistan, a leading multinational telecom services provider. She is also an advisor at ‘Idara-i-Taleem-o-Agahi’, a reputable organization working to improve the education sector in Pakistan. Palwasha is an avid reader with a keen interest in CSR, sustainable development and human rights and passionate about travel and volunteerism. 

I walked down to the chemist/grocery store today to get some stuff before heading back home. Stopped at the ATM, got some cash out. Didn’t bother looking at the receipt or counting the cash. Random thoughts flickered through my mind as I walked..... need to send that email before day end; should I enroll Zoya in summer camp or for swimming; hope the tailor didn’t ruin that lovely suit I bought; have to read those new stories to the kids at the shelter this weekend like I promised to........ 

At the store, I asked for the cleanser I came to buy, then picked some random items merely because I can never just buy one thing. A man walked in and mumbled the name of some medicine. He is evidently a laborer. Dirty shalwar kameez (national dress of Pakistan), torn shoes, scuffed hands and feet. He looked exhausted, his breath is ragged and he looked clearly very ill and weak. The shopkeeper asked him gruffly to speak louder, and finally managed to decipher what he wanted. It’s a calcium sachet, one of those that you take dissolved in water for energy. The shopkeeper tossed it rudely on the counter. The man meekly asked, ‘How much’?!' 

‘8 rupees’ is the reply. (8 rupees is the equivalent of 0.09USD) 

The man stared at the shopkeeper and said ‘Can I just take it? I don’t have the money.’ I stood with a 1500 rupee face wash in my hand and stare in shock....something snaps inside me…my heart bleeds for this man. What is 8 rupees?!!! The shopkeeper loses his patience (not that he had much of it in the first place). He snatched back the sachet from the counter and said, ‘Either pay or get out’. I failed to fathom why he could not find it in his heart to just give the man the sachet. Or speak kindly. Yell at the whole world, be impatient, be rude….but never ever ever speak to a poor person harshly. I finally found my voice and interrupted, ‘Just give him what he wants, I’ll pay’. The shopkeeper reluctantly handed it over. The man hesitated, glanced my way. ‘Go ahead, take it’, I nodded. Relief in his eyes as he walked away.

I hurriedly paid for my stuff in a daze. I rushed out after the man when the shopkeeper called me back telling me I’d forgotten to take my things. When I finally got out, the man was nowhere to be found. Slowly I walked back to work, cursing myself. Why didn’t I ask him what was wrong? Why didn’t I think to offer to buy him the entire pack? Proper medicines for whatever his ailment was. He could probably do with a good meal. I could have bought him food. A few thousand rupees is nothing to me. It could have made the entire month so much better for this man. What sort of a life must he live? No food to eat, no money to pay for medicines, maybe a family to provide for and no work. My handbag alone cost enough to provide for his family for a month. God has blessed me with SO much…He has given me enough to be able to easily help someone in need. It had only been two minutes. Oh, where could he have gone!! 

The guard opened the door. The air-conditioning soothed me. I smiled and nodded hello to colleagues. The elevator took me up to my desk. I logged back on to my laptop. It’s someone’s birthday at work. There was laughter and clapping and the cake. 

But just one thought resonated over and over in my head. 8 rupees, ….8 rupees, …..8 rupees! 

The value of 8 rupees? Worthless! The value of the lesson behind those 8 rupees? Priceless!

One of the deep secrets of life is that, all that is really worth doing is what we do for others. — Lewis Carroll

Believe that you can do it / make it / have it !

Ever heard of the story behind the 4 minutes mile? It goes somewhat like this… 

For thousands of years, people held the belief that it was impossible for a human to run the mile in less than 4 minutes. The ancient Greeks even had lions chase the runners, but it was still ‘impossible’. 

But in 1954, Roger Banister broke this imposing belief barrier. The significance of the achievement is what it did for others. In the whole history of the human race, no one had ever been able to break a 4-minute mile, yet after Roger (3:59:4) within one year, 37 other runners also broke it. And the year after that, 300 other runners did the same thing. And now it has turned out to be a standard for all professional middle distance runners. His experience provided them with a strong sense of certainty that they too could ‘do the impossible.’ Currently the record is owned by Hicham El Guerrouj a.k.a. “King of the Mile” from Morocco with his time 3:43:13 minutes. 

Leaders often excite followers by not only identifying opportunities but also breaking barriers and highlighting possibilities. 

Courtesy: RealAcad

Make That Attempt

“IMPROVEMENT always starts with ‘I’”

It’s called Mind set.

As I was passing by the elephants, I suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg.

No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at any time, break away from the ropes they were tied to but for some reason, they did not. I saw a trainer nearby and asked why these beautiful, magnificent animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away.

“Well,” he said, “when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free."

I was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn't, they were stuck right where they were.

Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it once before? 

A Wise Man once said, “Your attempt may fail, but never fail to make an attempt.” 

Guest contribution by Memoona Sajjad.

Build Yourself A Great Story

Human capacity can never be undermined. God has created in humans the ability to try for the absurd of things and make them possible. History is full of examples. It depends on the WILL to try and follow our passion even in the presence of fear to fail. But more importantly, it depends on our CHOICES. How we utilize our God given abilities and what we choose. Our choices shape us as a human, define our set of characteristics and distinguish us with our strengths.

Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon talks on the importance of choices at a Baccalaureate address to Princeton University's Class of 2010. An interesting bit of advice he quoted his grandfather giving him, “One day, you will understand that it’s harder to be kind than clever”. He emphasized on the difference between gifts and choices. Cleverness is a gift, kindness is a choice. Gifts are easy - they are given after all. Choices can be hard - they are taken. “In the end, we are our choices”, he concludes.

Excerpt from his speech.

"Tomorrow, in a very real sense, your life -- the life you author from scratch on your own -- begins.

How will you use your gifts? What choices will you make?

Will inertia be your guide, or will you follow your passions?

Will you follow dogma, or will you be original?

Will you choose a life of ease, or a life of service and adventure?

Will you wilt under criticism, or will you follow your convictions?

Will you bluff it out when you're wrong, or will you apologize?

Will you guard your heart against rejection, or will you act when you fall in love?

Will you play it safe, or will you be a little bit swashbuckling?

When it's tough, will you give up, or will you be relentless?

Will you be a cynic, or will you be a builder?

Will you be clever at the expense of others, or will you be kind?

I will hazard a prediction. When you are 80 years old, and in a quiet moment of reflection narrating for only yourself the most personal version of your life story, the telling that will be most compact and meaningful will be the series of choices you have made. In the end, we are our choices. Build yourself a great story. Thank you and good luck."

Click here for Full Transcript.

Belief Will Change My World...

Ever wondered how RHETORIC works ? An important component of leadership. The words play a role but the intonation and pitch in a voice makes the difference. Together they can turn out to be a soul shaker. Here is an example with the script (very powerful) below.

SCRIPT

Today gentlemen, I am honored to coach you

More honored to be leading you onto the field of battle

But theres another honor to be bestowed upon you

And that is in the answer that comes with that question:

Who am I? I AM A CHAMPION!

Thats right, and you need to remember that all through this game

I will conquer what has not been conquered

Defeat will not be in my creed

I will believe what others have doubted

I will always endeavor to pull esteem, honor, and respect out of my team

I have trained my mind and my body will follow

Who am I? I AM A CHAMPION!

I will acknowledge the fact that my opponent does not expect me to win

But I will never surrender

Weakness will not be in my heart

I will look to my comrades and to those who are a part of me in this world and those who have trained me

And I will draw strength from them

Who am I? I AM A CHAMPION!

I will gladly go out into the field of battle

And I will move in everything I can do

And I will reach my field of battle by any means at my disposal

And when I get there, I will arrive violentlyI will rip the heart from my enemy, and leave it bleeding on the ground

Because he cannot stop me

Who am I I AM A CHAMPION!

To my side I have comrades, comrades that have been with me through thick and thin

Who have sacrificed their blood, sweat and tears

Never will I let them fall, never will I let them down, and I will never leave an enemy behind

Because our opponent does not know my heart

Who am I? I AM A CHAMPION!

No one will deny me, no one will define me

And no one will tell me who and what I am and can be

Belief will change my worldIt has moved continents, it has moved countries, it has put men on the moon

And it will carry me through this battle

Who am I? I AM A CHAMPION!

Defeat, retreat: those are not in my words

I dont understand those definitions

I dont understand when things go wrong

I dont understand mistakes

But I do understand this:

I understand victory,

And I understand never surrendering

No matter how bad things go my heart and my mind will carry my body through limits and weakness

Who am I? I AM A CHAMPION!

Today will be that day

Not tomorrow, not next week, but right now, right here

In your house and in your homes

Who am I? I AM A CHAMPION!

History will remember meI will not let worrying affect my cause

I will define myself I will write my own pages

And no one will tell me what I cannot be

I will never give up

Not until Ive given everything I got

Because who am I? I AM A CHAMPION!

Who am I? I AM A CHAMPION!

Who am I? I AM A CHAMPION!

Who am I? I AM A CHAMPION!

Who am I? I AM A CHAMPION!

Who am I? I AM A CHAMPION!

Who am I? I AM A CHAMPION!

Who am I? I AM A CHAMPION!

Who am I? I AM A CHAMPION!